Page 16 - Education World November 2022

Education News

DELHI annual EW India Preschool Rankings
NCFFS 2022: Promising debut (EWIPR), which rates and ranks the

best pre-primaries in major cities on
several parameters of ECCE excel-
lence. Since then, the annual EWIPR
and subsequent awards-cum-confer-
ence events have continued without
interruption (except during the Co-
vid pandemic year) forcing ECCE on
to the national development agenda.
With the critical importance of
ECCE having been impacted on
the national consciousness, the
Dr. K. Kasturirangan Committee,
which was constituted to make
recommendations for the National
Education Policy (NEP) 2020, not
only acknowledged the vital impor-
tance of foundational profession-
ally administered ECCE for India’s
youngest children, but recommended
reconfiguration of the 10+2 primary-
Union education minister Pradhan (centre) releasing NCFFS 2022: high ECCE importance secondary schooling system into a
new 5+3+3+4 continuum formally
HE NATIONAL CURRICULUM entire NCF 2022 is expected to be integrating ECCE into elementary
Framework (NCF) 2022 was completed by end year. education. Consequently whereas
Tformally launched on Octo- The high importance being ac- under the Right of Children to Free
ber 20 with the presentation of the corded to early childhood care and & Compulsory Education (RTE)
National Curriculum Framework education (ECCE) by NEP 2020 is Act, 2009, the State was obliged to
for Foundational Stage (NCFFS) for a welcome development. Numerous provide education to all children in
children in the three-eight age group. studies conducted decades ago by classes I-VIII (age 6-14), now this
NCFFS is the first of four frame- pioneer educationists such as Dr. obligation is extended downwards to
works scheduled to be launched Maria Montessori and Jean Piaget children aged three years.
under NCF 2022. The other three, indicated that education of children Child development professionals
expected to be announced soon, are by way of play pedagogies is criti- and educationists have welcomed the
the National Curriculum Framework cally important for orderly cognitive provisions of NCFFS 2022 because it
for School Education (NCFSE), development. This was reiterated in unambiguously prescribes learning
National Curriculum Framework the latter years of the 20th century through play — conversation, stories,
for Teacher Education (NCFTE) and by several research studies which toys, music, art and crafts and pro-
National Curriculum Framework for highlighted that the human brain is hibits textbooks for children below
Adult Education (NCFAE). 80 percent developed by the time a age six. This unambiguous pedagogy
“Developing the foundational child attains eight years of age. prescription for the foundational
framework was one of the most Moreover in the new millennium, stage clears widely prevalent confu-
important and challenging aspects James Heckman, a Nobel Prize win- sion among ECCE providers, many of
under NEP 2020, as it has a huge ning economist, posited that a dollar whom prematurely impose textbooks
bearing on shaping the future of spent on professionally provided and exams on youngest children.
our country,” said h a rm e n dra ECCE saves $16 in higher education. D r. S w a ti P op a t V a ts , founder-
D
P ra dh a n , Union minister of educa- Yet despite this body of evidence, chairperson of the Early Childhood
tion, skill development and entre- ECCE remained an area of darkness Association of India (estb.2010)
preneurship, speaking at the launch in Indian education. which has a membership of 40,000
ceremony of NCFFS. Early childhood care and educa- private preschools in India, and
NCF 2022 has been launched tion received a big boost in 2010 president of the Podar Education
after a gap of 17 years with the previ- when EducationWorld convened Network of 498 owned and fran-
ous NCF presented to the nation in the country’s first ever international chised preschools countrywide, is
2005. Formal presentation of the ECCE conference and initiated the perfectly satisfied with NCFFS 2022

16 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2022